Plastic floor or roof



Oct. 28, 1941. J. J. WIDMAYER Y 72,260,425

l PLASTIC FLOOR oR.RooF

Filed April 21, 195e 2 sheets-sheet 1 ssi Oct. 28, 1941. J, J. WIDMAYER Y 2,260,425

PLASTIC FLOOR oluzoorl1 Filerd April 21, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l7 r 74.7 l7 r 7%20175 ,i r 7-,Clc 76.

Patented Oct. 28, 1941 UNITED STATES n PATENT OFFICE l f 2,260,425 PLASTIC FLOOR R RO0F- John J. Widmayer, Washington, D. C.

Application April 21, 1938, Serial No. 203,395

(Cl. 'Z2- 66) 6 Claims.

The present'. invention consists of a plastic floor or roof and method of making the same.Y

In the construction of buildings which embody I reinforced concrete floorsV and roofs, various means have been used to provide voids in the floor or ceiling for economizing in the use of concrete. The void producing agents now-usually employed are hollow tiles and metal pans, both of which are attended by many recognized disadvantages although generally considered, up to the present time, as the best available medium for this purpose. Hollow tiles, among othe disadvantages, are highly frangible, with resultant substantial loss by breakage in transportation, as well as on the job; they are incapable for use as a nailing base, undesirable as a plaster base and ineffective as a sound deadener. While the metal pans are not frangible, they are otherwise characterized by the same disadvantages, above referred to, which attend the use of hollow tile, and in addition the pans are more costly, and because of their weight, are more dimcult to install. From time to time other media have been provided for this purpose, such for instance` as the heavy,

highly frangible gypsum blocks, but they haveI failed to supplant either the clay tile or metal pan. In the present invention, I employ, in the construction of the oor or roof, a ller block which combines the advantages of the clay tiles, gypsum blocks, metal pans and other devices heretofore used, the present block additionally being extremely light in weight, an eiective sound deadener, may be nailed .and handsawed, provides an excellent plaster base, and is for all practical'pur'- poses, infrangible.

In carrying out my invention, I preferably employ light weight ber boards composed of relaity, 'weighing approximately l12.8 pounds, per cubic foot, as against a weight of approximately 25 pounds per cubic foot in an ordinary Thermax block, but it is ampie for use as a filler block, because it will -sustain any load which it is called upon to carry during the construction of the iloor and minimizes dead load in the oor. After completion of .the floor, these blocks are useful as a nailing or plaster base. f

The method employed in the present invention includes the' use of blocks, as above described, which are arranged in contiguity between opposite beams orwalls of the building, where one way concrete ribs are to be employed, the blocks being susceptible of separation at intervals where the two way system is used, that isthe ribs run at right angles to each other and are supported on four sides by beams or walls, a standard length block being divisible to permit use of fractions thereof, especially at the ends near the supporting beams or walls where increased width and/or depth of the concrete rib is necessary to take care of end shear.

It is also within the contemplation of this in- Y vention to provide iibre blocks aligned in rows tively long strands of wood shavings loosely assembled into a board or block form and retained in such relation by suitable cementitious substance such as sodium silicate,known magnesite compounds and the like, made up in units or slabs of predetermined length, width and thickness capable of use singly, in multiple or fractionally for variable adaptation to permit optional variation ,of the depth and thickness of the concrete rib.

Wood fiber blocks or slabs', commercially known as Thermax, are now used for the lwalls or partitions of buildings and are desirable for this purpose because of their manifold advantages in that .they are nre-proof, may be nailed to, hand sawed,

etc., but these blocks have'never been used as a void producing form for plastic floors or ceilings. When used as a void producing form, it is, of

with concrete channels which extend below the ,planes of the block rows and also extend beneath the sides of said rows, with the reinforcing elements disposed at the top of the channel to. meet negative moment conditions which occur principally'at the supports of continuous spans. 'By

this construction the compressive stresses which occurfin the lower concrete channels are taken care of.

Other objects of the invention will be better understood from the description of the present preferred forms lof the invention taken `in connection with the drawings, wherein- Fig. 1 is a'fragmentary perspectiveview of a iloor constructed in accordance with my invention showing the false supports beneath the floor and portions of the floor being shown incomplete to disclose details,

Fig. 2 is a detail fragmentary sectional view v.taken transversely through parallel rows of blocks and intervening concrete ribs in a completed course, manifest that a high density block is un- .55 oor,

Figa is a siminr view of a modified form or the invention wherein the filler blocks are used in multiple and metal laths are employed as softltlv pieces in the channel bases, l

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of another form of y fibrous hollow block,

Fig. 7 is a detail enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a block especially constructed for use in the present invention,

Fig. 8 is a detail fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of door constructed in accordance with the presentinvention wherein the concrete channels extend below the opposite margins of the block rows,

tion, but in the present invention, Vbecause of its' peculiar characteristics. may be used as a plaster and nailing base, and also as a sound deadener between floors.'v The inherent construc.

tion of a block of this character is such that crevices or fissures are provided inthe surfaces thereof which eifects a key between the concrete and the blocks with obvious beneficial results. In addition the under face of the block provides an excellent plaster base with the result that the i scratch coat may be eliminated and the brown coat applied directly thereto.

The blocks 22 may be layed endwlse in contigulty, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and in certain Jobs the same block may 'be usecll throughout the row from one sidewall to the other.' In other jobs. it is necessary to widen the plastic channel at'the ends of the rows and to produce this result terminal blocks 23 of. less Fig." 9 is a perspective lvievv'cf a reinforcing rod supporting chair used in the present invention, 1

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary plan view ofa floor constructed in accordance 'with' the present invention whereinis illustrated the method of using standard length and width blocks and fractions thereof.'

Figs. 1l to 16, inclusive, eachis a perspective view -of a standard size of block as used in the present invention,

Figs. 17 to 19, inclusive, are perspective views of multiples of the blocks illustrated in Figs. l1 to 16, and l v Fig. 20 is a detail fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of floor, illustrated in Fig. 8;

. In the drawings to illustrate the method of employing my invention andl also the application thereof, I have illustrateda portion of afalse supporting structure generally designated 20 which is of standard design. 'Arranged inrows between building walls 2| on the struct-ure 20 are `blocks or slabs 22 all 'of which are preferably of standard predetermined length and Width, but may `vary in depth, in a manner more fully hereinafter set forth. The blocks included in the present invention -preferably consist of light weight fiber boards loosely assembled in any sultable manner into' block or slab form and composed o'f strands of wood shavings held` together by suitable adhesive chemical agents, such for Y instance as the blocks now commercially known as Thermax. As shown to advantage in Fig. 7 of the drawings, the ilbers preferably extend longitudinally through the block, the bers being plastlcised either before or during the fabrication of the block. The commercial Ihermax block isl denser, weighing. approximately pounds per cubicfoot. and consequently heavier and more costly than is necessary for use as ller blocks,

and I have found that the same amount of mawidth are provided. A pair of the blocks 23 ref suits from cutting a standard'size block 22 in half and turning the same through an arc of 915. so as to bring one side of the divided block into contiguity with one end of the standard block,

the remaining half of the block being arranged in end to end relation with the ilrst half, as illustrated advantageously in Fig. 1.

In the openings between the parallel/ rows of blocks, I preferably mount somt members or bases 24, made of the same material as theblocks 22, the bases. being superimposed. on and supported by vthe structure 20. The sofllt members -form the bottom bases of the receiving channel .and automatically control the width of the base between the block rows, correspondingly determining the width of the concrete receiving channel. In the channels, I also mount reinforcing rod supporting chairs 25 whic the somt pieces or members 2 are carried by in the form of invention shown in Fig. 1. The chairs carry re-v inforcing rods 26. Concrete is poured in the channels over the reinforcing rods, in a manner well knownin the art, the solidified concrete forming the concrete supporting ribs 21 of tne floor.

It will be noted, especially upon reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings, that the bottom faces oi' the soiiit members 24 are -uniplanar with the bottom faces of the blocks 22 providing a plain'uninterrupted plaster basel to which plaster 28 may eb directly applied.

terial used -for making a block of predetermined dimensions may be used for theA manufacture or fabrication of a block of twice the size, which is better adapted for use. in accordance with the teachingI of my invention. By' following this course a very light weight block, the-'weight being approximately 12.8 pounds per cubic foot,

` is provided which is not frangible and will supless thickness. Also in Fig. 3. I have shown av slight modification of the invention. WhereinI -As shown in Fig.v 3 ofthe drawings, when it is desired to increase the depth o fthe vplastic f rib 21 various multiples of block may be used.

In Figs. l1 to 16 ofthe drawings, blocks varying in thickness'from'three inches to eight inches arel illustrated. For the purpose.. of thisl invention, it has been found unnecessary to make blocks of any greater or lesser thickness. Three inches is the minimum thickness of block which would be required under modern building conditions and by using the multiple system -of block, any desired depth of channels vmay be obtained from three to sixteen inches. It will belnoted, of

course, that all of the blocks, regardless of thickness are of the same length and width. The 11-.

lustration in Fig. 3 shows a relatively thick base block having superimposed thereon a block B of substitute a mm mth :s in the base of each of the concrete channels for the solt members 24. In some jobs this type of sotilt member may be preferred.

i In Figs.. 4 and 5 another modification of the blocks.

- tain jobs.

invention is illustrated consisting of a hollow block 30 made of the same materials as the blocks 22 and 23, having lateralA extensions 3l at the base thereof which are adapted to abut so as to provide solts in the bottoms of the channels vided, the base of which is belowv the lower faces of the block rows and extends beneath the adjacent edges of said rows to permit the concrete poured into the channels to ow beneath the This broadens the base of the channel and is a construction which is preferred in certhe reinforcing rods are preferably mounted in the top of the ribs. I prefer to employ this method to meet compressive stresses developed by negative moment conditions which usually occur at the supports of continuous spans. Y

In Fig. 1'0 of the drawings, I have shown blocks designated a, b, c. d, and e for the pur-'- pose of illustrating fractional use of blocksconstructed in accordance with this invention, without any loss of materials' Here the standard length of blocks, b, are used with a fractional length block c in row No. 1. the remaining portion of the block c being block din row No. 2, the row No. 2 also including a fraction of a block designated e, the remaining portion of which block is carried overto row No. 3. 0f course. the blocksa, as `already described. are formed.

by dividing standard size block b and g'lving said :portions a quarter turn in a manner already described. In this way the width of the channelsis automatically increased at their terminals.

In the modified form of invention shown in Fig. 20. instead of superlmposing one block on top of a, narrower block,. as is done in the form of invention shown in Fig. 8, I undercut or recess the .sides of each block- 2l at the bottom thereof to provide grooves. In this way the channel bases are widened to correspondingly Where this construction is employed.'

increase the widthofthebases Il oftheconfrom the use of the form of invention illustrated in Fig. 8. f

While I have hereinshown and described preferred forms of my invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that various changes maybe made therein within the scope of the claims hereto appended.

What is claimed is:

l. A floor comprising parallel rows of blocks all of the faces of which are closed, the blocks' being arranged in end to end relation, the rows of -blocks being spaced to provide concrete 4receiving channels therebetween, the blocks being composed of spaced fibers thereby providing surface voids.

2. A floor comprising rows of solid blocks having concrete receiving channels therebetween for forming concrete ribs between the blocks, the channels extending beneath portions of the block rows on each side of and at each end onlyof the. latter to resist compressive stresses developed in the lower parts of the ribs.

3. Floors for buildings including Thermax blocks aligned in rows between the sides of the building and spaced to provide plastic receiving channels, and Thermax somt members arranged between the lower adjacent faces of the vblocks and uniplanar with the bottom faces lof the latter.

4. In iloor construction.

to provide intervening concrete channels. the

surface fibers of the block being twisted and undulated at intervals to provide concrete reeeiving crevices' and. depressions for keying the concrete to the blocks.

. 5. 'A door comprising rows of parallellyv arranged blocks spaced t0 provide 'concretereceiving channels, the blocks consisting of light weight fibrous bodies of Asuiilcient stability to prevent crushing resultant from the application of external forces during floor construction, the block surfaces lbeing flssured to key the concrete of the channels to the rows of blocks.

6. A door comprising parallel rows of Thermax blocks spaced to provide concrete receiving channels. the concrete being poured into said channels and on top of the blocks for engagement -in the surface interstices of the latter.'

' JOHN J. WIDMAYER.

crete ribs with the same advantages, which ilow low l density fiber blocks arranged contiguously in rows and spaced 

